Everyday in India is a journey Past Review
By Danielle R (Elon University) - abroad from 01/07/2014 to 05/01/2014 with
IFSA/Alliance: Manipal - Global and Public Health
I learned, obviously, a lot about India, but also a lot of things about myself. Being in such a novel situation, forces some introspection about who you are on you. Your opinions and customs are in question all the time, and often you have to explain what it's like as an American. I gained a deep sense of acceptance and tolerance for other nationalities, races, religions, ways of doing things. I really and truly think that my semester in India changed my life.
Personal Information
| How much international exposure did you have prior to this program? | 2 weeks - 1 month |
Review Your Program
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* Overall educational experience
Academic rigor, intensity, resources, etc. |
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* Host Country Program Administration
On-site administration of your program |
Without Katie Jo the program would be nothing. She's the reason that the whole things works so smoothly and there's so many amazing experiences. |
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* Housing:
How satisfied were you with your living arrangements? |
On the whole, it was great. Obviously things are going to be different, and there's some adjustment there. One of the complaints we all had in the program was that we don't get pass card in or out of the building, while some of the exchange student who were there for only a few weeks got pass cards. |
| * Food: |
Lots of good food! Sometimes you have to search for it, and the mess is alright but gets boring after a while. The menu is pretty fixed, so we knew what meals on what days we made sure to go to. But overall, the food is so cheap, its just as good to eat out. |
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* Social & Cultural Integration:
How integrated did you feel with the local culture? |
This is one thing that is dependent on you. You make this what you want to. There's friends out there, you just have to go out there and find them. Overall, I'd say we had our core group of friends in the program, but spent a lot of time with the students. |
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* Health Care:
How well were health issues addressed during the program? |
There's a hospital within walking distance that a few member did have to attend. You're going to get sick at least once, everyone does. Katie Jo and the RAA Ananda were amazing and ALWAYS had the first aid kit on hand. From band aids for blisters to benadryl for an allergic reaction, they were there! |
| * Safety: |
Overall, I felt as safe on campus in Manipal as I did at Elon. You have curfew at midnight, so you aren't really out late, alone or otherwise. It's also a fairly small community, so you're never that far from your hostel, if a situation was to arise. |
| If you could do it all over again would you choose the same program? |
Yes
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Finances
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* Money: How easily were you able to live on a student's budget?
(1 = not very easy/$200+ on food & personal expenses/week, 2.5 = $100/week, 5 = very easily/minimal cost) |
Again, this is what you make of it really. Some people ate out for almost every meal, and others that ate almost all meals in the mess. Shopping was also up to you. I spent about $200 in a month or so, not including the week of travel. Money was really easy to get, as there were like 3 ATMs on campus |
| Not including program expenses, about how much money did you spend on food and other expenses each week? | Around $50 |
Language
| * Did your program have a foreign language component? | Yes |
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How much did the program encourage you to use the language?
0 = No encouragement, 5 = frequent encouragement to use the language |
There was an optional Hindi language class for credit, that a lot of us took part in. However, it wasn't really helpful as Hindi isn't the local language in Manipal. There was also a crash course in Kannada, the local language of Manipal, that was more practical. We did use both on a fairly regular basis however. |
| How would you rate your language skills at the beginning of the program? | None |
| How would you rate your language skills at the end of the program? | Beginner |
| What was the highest level language course you had completed prior to departure? | None |
| How many hours per day did you use the language? | |
| Do you have any tips/advice on the best ways to practice the language for future study abroad participants? | Learn some basic phrases in a multitude of Indian languages if you can/want to. Kannada is spoken in Manipal, but if you're wanting to do any traveling, Hindi and Tamil becomes more useful. But generally, English is the language you're going to use.. |
Other Program Information
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* Where did you live?
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* Who did you live with?
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* Who did you take classes with?
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| About how many local friends did you make that you will likely keep in touch with? |
A Look Back
| * What did you like most about the program? |
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| * What could be improved? |
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| * What do you know now that you wish you knew before going on this program? | I wish I'd known how many things I could buy in India. Such as the fact that I didn't need to pack enough shampoo and conditioner for a whole 4 months. Almost every toiletry you could want you can buy there, so there's no need to bring them and waste space in your suit case. I also wish I'd brought more "western" clothes. We were with our peers in India, and they dressed conservatively compared to American college students, but that just meant t shirts and jeans. Indian clothes are super awesome, but it would have been nice to have more of my own clothes too. |
Reasons For Studying Abroad
| To help future students find programs attended by like-minded individuals, please choose the profile that most closely represents you. |
The Outright UrbaniteA social butterfly, you're happiest in bustling cities with hip people, and took advantage of all it had to offer. You enjoyed the nightlife, and had fun going out dancing, and socializing with friends. Fun-loving and dressed to the nines, you enjoyed discovering new restaurants, shops, cafes, and bars in your host country. |
Individual Course Reviews
| Course Name/Rating: |
Counter Terrorism and Asymmetic Conflicts |
| Course Department: | Geopolitics |
| Instructor: | Nanda Kishor |
| Instruction Language: | English |
| Comments: | This class was completely out of my major, and I had little to no previous experience in this field beside popular press, and I feel like I learned a ton! NK sir is a fantastic professor, and all the students in my course were very helpful and friendly in and outside of class. |
| Credit Transfer Issues: |
